With less than two weeks remaining before his long-awaited showdown with fellow mixed martial arts superstar Rodrigo Gracie (5-0), former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion, BJ Penn (8-1-1), lacks no self-confidence about a task requiring him to tack on additional pounds for his debut in a 185 pound weight limit division.

"I feel great. I’m already in shape to fight. I’m just waiting now," stated Penn, while taking a rare breather from what has become one of the most intense training camps of his career. The 25-year-old Jiu-Jitsu specialist, otherwise known as "The Prodigy," will lock up with Gracie during the main event of "Rumble on the Rock 6," which will be presented at Honolulu, Hawaii’s Blaisdell Arena by the newly-formed K-1 Fighting Network on Saturday, November 20th. "This is another step forward for me in another weight class. I’m ready and I’m gonna be doing everything during the fight. People are gonna see somebody fighting their heart out."

For six weeks, Penn has been toiling in his native Hilo, Hawaii with training partners who hover around the 190-pound mark. UFC veteran Renato "Charuto" Verissimo and Jiu-Jitsu brown belt Mike Pyle are amongst those helping him prepare for the upcoming matchup.

Penn’s appearance will mark his second in an event promoted by a K-1 affiliate entity. On May 22nd, he faced world Muay Thai champion and fellow American Duane "Bang" Ludwig in Saitama, Japan during the promotion’s premiere mixed martial arts fight card. At the 2:45 mark of the matchup’s opening round, Penn slapped a chokehold on Ludwig that prompted the latter fighter to submit.

Before crossing over to the world’s most dignified martial arts fighting circuit, Penn pulled off a feat of epic proportions on January 31st when he made a jump from the UFC’s 154-pound limit division to its 168-pound class and easily defeated the heavier weight category’s reigning champion, Matt Hughes, by way of rear naked choke.

In other Rumble on The Rock 6 action, 2003 K-1 USA champion, Carter Williams (36-9), will make his fourth career start under mixed martial arts rules when he takes on Tom "Green Beret" Howard (0-2) while another esteemed member of the famed Gracie clan, Royler (3-2-1), will face Kazuyuki Miyata (7-1-4). The event will also see a return to action by UFC heavyweight veterans Wesley "Cabbage" Correira (13-6) and 6 foot 9 inch Wes "The Project" Sims (5-5).

Tickets for Saturday, November 20th’s Rumble on the Rock 6 event are priced at $30, $60, $65, $100, $150, and $200, respectively, and can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com as well as at all Ticketmaster locations.

Rumble on the Rock is a Hawaii-based mixed martial arts fight promotion that was launched by Prodigy Productions two years ago. Recently, Prodigy Productions partnered with K-1 Fighting Network, a division of the Japan-based K-1 Corporation, to bring mixed martial arts sporting events to a growing fanbase.

posted by Full Contact Fighter @ 8:00 pm

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